Walter enlisted on 29 Apr 1940 and was posted to 2/40th Battalion. He embarked for Timor on 8 Dec 1941 and joined the 2/2nd on Timor as a Private from 2/40th Battalion, after the fall of Koepang, approx. March 1942. He was one of the former Koepang men, who moved to the village of Mape for intensive commando training and, on 8 May 1942, they were formed into a new Platoon, "D" Platoon under the command of Lieutenant Turton and later under Lt Doig. After the campaign on Timor, he embarked with the unit, for Australia aboard the Royal Dutch destroyer “Tjerk Hiddes” on 11 Dec 1942
After medical treatment he was posted to 22nd Australian Motor Regiment on 15 Mar 1943 and embarked for New Guinea aboard "CANBERRA" on 31 Dec 1943 to join 2/12th Battalion. Walter was wounded in action, Left ankle, on 21 Jan 1944 and evacuated to hospital. He re-joined the 2/12th on 10 Mar 1944 and returned to Australia aboard "TAROONA" on 6 May 1944.
He embarked for Moratai aboard "PUTUS H ROSE" on 28 May 1945 and then for Balikpapan aboard Landing Ship Troops 456 on 23 Jun 1945.
He returned to Australia on 5 Jan 1946 and was discharged on 25 Jan 1946.
He was entitled to the 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and Australian Service Medal 1939-45, pictured below. He is now also entitled to the Australian Service Medal 1945-75 with a clasp
Edited by Peter Epps
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now